[mthg]

A lot of companies use in-house languages with similarities to popular outside languages. Unreal script for example would be accessible to anybody coming from a traditional java background but it is different in some ways, i.e. polymorphism based on 'game state' as a built-in construct. A lot of other in-house languages look like Python. Some companies script with LISP and LISP-derivatives. In my experience most game scripting has less to do with programming and more to do with game design. If you are interested in solving algorithmic and engineering problems, it's not the way to go. Game programming per se usually involves hacking almost exclusively in C, C++, assembly and shader languages.

No matter which direction you go, the best way in is to show them a body of work even if it's unpublished projects done in your spare time. If you only want to do scripting work and avoid systems-level programming, you can get into modding.

As for the 'breadth of what you need to know' you shouldn't be terribly intimidated if you're a junior person. Most generalist programmers at a game company are not much different from very good systems programmers at other companies. If you want to get into specialized fields like AI, physics, or graphics, you will need to demonstrate that specialized knowledge.

[JMiao]

right on the money. the best game developers i've worked with were mostly self-taught (from indies to internal ea studios).